Biography of Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany 1187-1203

Paternal Family Tree: Anjou aka Plantagenet

Maternal Family Tree: Adela Valois Countess Blois and Vermandois

In July 1181 [his father] Geoffrey Plantagenet 2nd Duke Brittany (age 22) and [his mother] Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 20) were married. She by marriage Duchess Brittany. He by marriage Duke Brittany. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Conan "The Young" Penthièvre IV Duke Brittany and [his grandmother] Margaret Dunkeld Duchess Brittany (age 36). He the son of [his grandfather] King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England (age 48) and [his grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 59). They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 19th August 1186 [his father] Geoffrey Plantagenet 2nd Duke Brittany (age 27) died at Paris [Map].

In 1187 Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany was born posthumously to Geoffrey Plantagenet 2nd Duke Brittany and Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 26). He a grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

In 1188 [his step-father] Ranulf de Blondeville Gernon 6th Earl Chester 1st Earl Lincoln (age 18) and [his mother] Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 27) were married. She by marriage Countess Chester. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Conan "The Young" Penthièvre IV Duke Brittany and [his grandmother] Margaret Dunkeld Duchess Brittany (age 43). He the son of Hugh de Kevelioc Gernon 5th Earl Chester and Bertrade Montfort Countess Chester. They were half third cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

Death of Richard I

                    On 26th March 1199 [his uncle] King Richard "Lionheart" I of England (age 41) was besieging Châlus Chabrol Castle. During the course of the evening King Richard "Lionheart" I of England was shot by a crossbow. The wound quickly became gangrenous; Richard died in the arms of his mother [his grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 77) on 6th April 1199. His brother [his uncle] John (age 32) succeeded I King of England.
                
                    There was a brother between Richard and John named [his father] Geoffrey Duke of Brittany who had a son Arthur (age 12), who was around twelve, and a daughter [his sister] Eleanor (age 15), who was around fifteen, whose mother was [his mother] Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 38).
                
                    King Philip II of France (age 33) had planned for Eleanor to marry his son, probably to bring Brittany into the French Royal family, possibly to pursue a claim on England.
                
                    King Philip II of France supported Arthur's claim to the English throne. In the resulting war Arthur was captured, imprisoned and never seen again. Eleanor was captured, probably around the same time as Arthur, and imprisoned, more or less, for the remainder of her life, even after King John's death through the reign of King Henry III since she represented a threat to Henry's succession.

Before 1200 [his step-father] Guy Thouars (age 59) and [his mother] Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 38) were married. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Conan "The Young" Penthièvre IV Duke Brittany and [his grandmother] Margaret Dunkeld Duchess Brittany (age 54). They were half fourth cousin once removed. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England.

On 5th September 1201 [his mother] Constance Penthièvre Duchess Brittany (age 40) died. Her son Arthur (age 14) succeeded 3rd Duke Brittany, 4th Earl Richmond.

In 1202 Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany (age 15) besieged at Château de Mirebeau, Montreuil.

Battle of Mirebeau

On 1st August 1202 [his uncle] King John of England (age 35) defeated the army of his nephew Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany (age 15) and Hugh X of Lusignan V Count La Marche (age 19) which was besieging John's mother [his grandmother] Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England (age 80) at Mirebeau Castle. King John of England took Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany 1187-1203's army by surprise capturing most. Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany and, probably, his sister [his sister] Eleanor "Fair Maid of Britanny" 4th Countess of Richmond (age 18), both of whom arguably had better claims to the throne than King John of England were captured.

Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany was imprisoned by William de Braose 4th Baron Bramber (age 58) at Falaise Castle [Map].

Annals of Margam. 1st August 1202. [his uncle] King John (age 35) took his nephew Arthur (age 15) in chains at the castle of Mirabel on the feast of Saint Peter, and with Geoffrey de Lusignan¹, Hugo the Brown² and Andream de Chavenny, and Hugh III, viscount of Chastelleraud³, and Reymundnm de Troarde, and Savaricum de Maulyon, and Hugonem de Banchai, and all his other enemies of Poitou, who were around 200 soldiers and more. Of which 22 he killed the noblest and bravest men in arms by starvation in the castle of Corfe [Map]; so that not one of them escaped.

Rex Johannes apud castrum Mirabel cepit Arthurum nepotem suum in festum Sancti Petri ad vincula, et cum eo Galfridum de Lizanan¹ et Hugonem de Brun², et Andream de Chavenny, et vice-comitem de castro Haraldi³, et Reymundnm de Troarde, et Savaricum de Maulyon, et Hugonem de Banchai, et omnes alios inimicos suos Pictaviæ, qui ibi erant circiter cc. milites et plures. Ex quibus xxii. nobilissimos et strenuissimos in armis fame interfecit in castello de Corf [Map]; ita quod nec unus ex illis evasit.

Note 1. Geoffrey de Lusignan (age 52).

Note 2. Hugh de Lusignan (age 19), surnamed le Brun, count de la Marche.

Note 3. Hugh III, viscount of Chastelleraud.

In 1203 Arthur Plantagenet 3rd Duke Brittany (age 16) was murdered at Rouen, France [Map]. His half sister [his half-sister] Alix (age 1) succeeded 5th Countess Richmond. His half-sister [his sister] Eleanor "Fair Maid of Britanny" 4th Countess of Richmond (age 19), who was imprisoned from 1202 to her death, also used the title Countess of Richmond.

Murder of Arthur Duke of Brittany

Chronicum Anglicanum by Ralph Coggeshall. [May 1204] In this year, after the middle of Lent, King John, having taken counsel, sent envoys to the King of France, namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of Norwich and Ely, as well as Count William Marshal and the Earl of Leicester, in order to sound out the king's intentions and to discuss with him some form of peace settlement. But King Philip, elated because everything was turning to his advantage, was altogether unwilling to agree to any peace unless Arthur were delivered to him alive. If Arthur was already removed from the scene, then he demanded Arthur's sister in marriage, together with all the land beyond the sea. And when the form of peace was debated in various ways, King Philip, unwilling for peace, since he was confident he would soon gain all of King John's territory, always proposed some unacceptable or impossible condition in the terms, something that would both cause shame and diminish the dignity of the English crown, and detract from royal majesty. He raged most fiercely over the murder of Arthur, whom he had heard had been drowned in the Seine; and it is said that he swore never in all his life to cease harassing King John until he had stripped him of his whole kingdom. Soon after, at the following Easter, King Philip assembled his army, besieged Falaise, and quickly captured it with no resistance. Then, coming to Caen, he was at once peacefully received by the townsfolk, since they had no one who could defend them. After this he seized the whole of that province as far as Barfleur, Cherbourg, and Domfront.

Hoc anno, post mediam Quadragesimam, rex Johannes, concilio habito, nuncios direxit ad regem Galliæ, Cantuariensem scilicet archiepiscopum, Norwicensem episcopum atque Elyensem, necnon et comitem Willelmum Marescallum, cum comite Leircestriæ, ut explorarent animum regis, ac de aliqua pacis formula cum eo tractarent. Sed rex Philippus nimis efferatus, quia omnia ei pro voto succedebant, nequaquam aliquam pacis concordiam componere volebat, nisi Arturus ei vivus traderetur. Quod si ille de medio jam sublatus esset, sororem ejus in matrimonium expetebat, cum tota terra transmarina. Cumque diversis modis de formula pacis tractaretur, rex Philippus pacem nolens, qui in brevi totam terram regis se adepturum confidebat, semper aliquod inconveniens, aut aliquod impossibile, in forma pacis componenda proponebat, quod et pudorem et principatus minorationem regi Anglorum incuteret, et regiæ majestati derogaret. Sæviebat autem permaxime pro nece Arturi, quem in Sequana submersum fuisse audierat; unde et jurasse fertur quod nullo tempore totius vitæ suæ ab infestatione regis Johannis desisteret, donec eum toto regno suo privasset. Mox autem, Pascha subsequenti, coadunato exercitu, rex Galliæ obsedit Falesiam et in brevi cepit, nullo ei resistente; deinde, Cadomis veniens, a Cadomensibus pacifice statim receptus est, cum neminem haberent qui eos defendere valeret. Post hæc cepit totam illam provinciam usque Barbefleot, et Chereburch, et Danfrunt.

Note 1. Annals of Margam: "The King of the Franks captured the castle of Chinon, and later all the fortifications of Normandy, Anjou, and the city of Poitiers, along with other castles, towns, and cities that he wanted to possess. This happened because when King John had captured Arthur and had kept him alive in prison for some time, he eventually, drunk and possessed by demons, personally killed him in the tower of Rouen on the Thursday before Easter, after lunch. He tied a large stone to his body and threw him into the Seine; the body was found in a fishing net called 'sagena' and brought to the shore. It was discovered and secretly buried in the priory of Bec, known as Saint Mary's of the Meadow, due to fear of the tyrant."

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Annals of Margam. [May 1204] The King of the Franks captured the castle of Chinon, and later all the fortifications of Normandy, Anjou, and the city of Poitiers, along with other castles, towns, and cities that he wanted to possess. This happened because when King John had captured Arthur and had kept him alive in prison for some time, he eventually, drunk and possessed by demons, personally killed him in the tower of Rouen on the Thursday before Easter, after lunch. He tied a large stone to his body and threw him into the Seine; the body was found in a fishing net called "sagena" and brought to the shore. It was discovered and secretly buried in the priory of Bec, known as Saint Mary's of the Meadow, due to fear of the tyrant.

Rex Francorum cepit castrum de Chynun, et postea omnes munitiones Normanniæ, Andegaviæ, et civitatem Pictavis, cum aliis castellis, oppidis, et civitatibus quas voluit habere, et hac ratione; cum rex Johannes cepisset Arthurum, eumque aliquamdiu in carcere vivum tenuisset, in turre tandem Rothomagensi, feria quinta ante Pascha, post prandium, ebrius et dæmonio plenus, propria manu interfecit, et grandi lapide ad corpus ejus alligato, projecit in Secanam; quod reti piscatorio, id est, sagena, inventum est, et ad littus tractum, cognitum; et in prioratu Becci, qui dicitur Sanctæ Mariæ de Prato, occulte sepultum, propter metum tyranni.